How to Stop Hating Yourself

These suggestions for overcoming your self-hatred, practicing forgiveness, and learning how to stop hating yourself will help you move forward. Like everything worthwhile, the time you put into it will be worth it.

I’m an expert in self-hatred. When I read my old diaries from when I was 11 – 30 years ago! – I’m shocked that I hated myself back then. I read my journal from two months ago, and am shocked afresh that I still hate myself. I’m deeply spiritual, yet I can’t forgive myself for the big and little mistakes I’ve made. I want to start fresh but I keep beating myself up, like a dog returning to her vomit (speaking of dogs, you might want to read How to Forgive Yourself for Not Protecting Your Dog for a different perspective on how to stop hating yourself).

My second tip is to see a play like “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot.” I saw it yesterday, and think it perhaps should be my first tip for overcoming self-hatred! The play is about the hell we put ourselves through, keep ourselves in, and refuse to let ourselves out of.

What is your self-imposed hell?

Judas betrayed Jesus, and couldn’t forgive himself – even when Jesus reached out in love and forgiveness. Judas put himself in hell, according to this play, and would not let himself be set free.

Instead of hating yourself, use these tips for overcoming self-hatred to forgive yourself and start fresh.

How to Stop Hating Yourself

Maybe getting to the root of our self-loathing (why do we hate ourselves so much?) is necessary, but I think not. I’d rather focus on love, forgiveness, self-compassion, and setting myself free from the hell I keep putting myself in.

“If heaven and hell are a mindset, as the play seems to suggest, it seems fitting that purgatory is really a place called Hope,” writes Sarah Szloboda in her review of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot.

How to Stop Hating Yourself

Judas put himself in hell and refused to accept the love and compassion of the saints. He did not want Jesus to touch him, even when Jesus professed his love and acceptance. Judas could not let Jesus forgive him because Judas could not forgive himself.

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Before you can overcome self-hatred, you need to realize that you are putting yourself through hell and keeping yourself there – unnecessarily! Further, you have the power to let yourself out of hell. Take a deep breath right now, and start forgiving yourself. This doesn’t happen overnight, so have patience. Self-forgiveness and freedom are choices you have to make, perhaps several times a day.

Persevere, my friend, because the peace you’ll find is worth the pain of forgiving yourself. If you struggle with self-forgiveness, read How to Accept Yourself.

Be honest about your pain

You found this article about overcoming self-hatred, which means you’re aware of your pain. But have you talked about the shame you feel because of the things you’ve done? Have you asked other people if they ever hate themselves, and how they deal with those feelings? Sometimes it helps to talk about it – because the hidden secrets are the ones that have power over us.

When we bring our dirty deeds into the light, we take away their power.

This doesn’t work all the time, though. I’ve written and talked about my sister, and how terrible I felt that she doesn’t want to talk to me ever again (I didn’t do anything wrong! She just wants to cut all ties with her past, and I’m part of her past. Hurts like hell, but I’m tired of beating myself up over it). Talking and writing about my self-hatred with regard to my sister didn’t help, though. I saw a counselor, who explained that it’s all about my sister – it’s not about me.

Talking to a counselor helped, but what really helped me forgive myself and start fresh was eye movement “therapy” (more like a two-minute exercise than therapy – see the next tip for forgiving yourself).

I tried EMDR to help me forgive myself for being such a bad sister that my sister can’t even talk to me anymore, and I’m shocked that it worked! I actually feel better about myself. There’s something physiological and psychological about moving your eyes back and forth while processing memories – it’s similar to what happens during REM sleep.

If you want to forgive yourself and start fresh, try “crazy” new things like eye movement therapy.

Remember that self-hatred leads to self-sabotage

If you hate yourself for the things you’ve done – if you can’t forgive yourself – then you’ll set yourself up for failure. For instance, people who believe they don’t deserve to be in a healthy relationship will act in ways that sabotage or defeat good relationships (eg, they’ll choose needy, weak, unhealthy partners and then wonder why their relationships fail).

How to Stop Hating Yourself

You’ll never achieve your goals – or even allow yourself to dream big – if you keep yourself imprisoned in a cell of self-loathing. You’ll never fulfill your deepest desires if you act like Judas. Not the Judas before the Big Betrayal — the Judas afterwards, who hated himself so much he couldn’t accept Jesus’ forgiveness and love.

To stop sabotaging and defeating yourself, you need to stop believing things about yourself that isn’t true.

Are you like Judas, condemning yourself to hell by refusing to accept love? Will you overcome your self-hatred and allow yourself to move into forgiveness, peace, and freedom? I welcome your thoughts on how to stop hating yourself below. I can’t offer advice or counseling, but you might feel better if you write about how you feel.

The Spirit of the Lord brings radical freedom to our lives. Freedom from legalism, guilt, condemnation, self-hatred and self-rejection. Freedom from the power of sin, selfishness, manipulation and control. Freedom from the fear of death and fear of what others think of us. Freedom from comparing ourselves with others. – Nicky Gumbel.

Laurie's "She Blossoms" Books

Growing Forward When You Can't Go Back - to help you walk through loss into a new season of life. I share glimpses into my life with a schizophrenic mother, living in foster homes, teaching in Africa, and coping with infertility. Woven through the book are practical, encouraging Blossom Tips to help you grow and flourish!

How to Let Go of Someone You Love - Powerful Secrets (and Practical Tips!) for Healing Your Heart After a Breakup. Do you feel like you'll never get over your broken heart? This ebook - available immediately - will help you heal. It's time to let go of what was, and embrace what will be.

When You Miss Him Like Crazy - 25 Lessons to Move You From Broken to Blossoming After a Breakup! You miss him desperately right now, but you won't always feel this way. This warm, comforting ebook will give you the tools, encouragement and strength you need to move through the pain and start blossoming - today!

4 thoughts on “How to Stop Hating Yourself”

You say “stop believing things about yourself that aren’t true”. But what if those things are true? I can chose to not believe the truth but that doesn’t change the truth. I don’t know how to forget my past. I don’t know how to feel forgiven. I ask for forgiveness, and I live with shame. It’s been this way as long as I can remember, and I think it will be that way until I am dead.

Thanks for your comments! I’m reading Self-Compassion by Kristen Neff, and think it’s one of the best books about overcoming self-hatred that I’ve ever read. Compassion and forgiveness are habits we need to learn.

Oh boy, learning to forgive yourself is one of the most difficult things that I have ever had to learn and I am still not there yet, probably never will be. I have been having monthly kinesiology sessions for the last couple of years and they have been great for keeping me on an even keel (mainly because I work in a very difficult environment). Emotional Freedom Technique is a type of kinesiology that you can use on yourself and it is also fantastic but sometimes you need a therapist who can stand back and find out where all the emotions are coming from.

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Welcome

I'm Laurie, author of Growing Forward When You Can't Go Back. I survived a schizophrenic mom, foster care, infertility, and three years in Africa! My degrees are in Psychology, Education, and Social Work; I share Blossom Tips for walking into new seasons of life. About Me.